Walnuts Could Improve Sperm Quality, And 5 Other Health Benefits Of The Nut

08/18/2012 08:43 am ET
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Updated
Aug 21, 2012

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For men looking to start a family, a small new study is shedding light on an all-natural snack that might help their chances: walnuts.

University of California, Los Angeles researchers found that men who ate 75 grams of walnuts daily -- about two handfuls' worth -- in addition to their regular diets had an improvement in semen quality, compared with men who didn't eat the nuts.

"This study shows that what men eat is important, too," for couples looking to start a family, study researcher Wendie Robbins, a professor at UCLA, said in a statement.

The study included 117 men ages 21 to 35. About half of the men ate the 75 grams of walnuts each day for 12 weeks, while the other half ate a normal diet of Western-style food.

The researchers found that the men who ate the walnuts "experienced improvement in sperm vitality, motility, and morphology," while those who didn't eat the nuts "saw no change," they wrote in the Biology of Reproduction study.

Plus, men who ate the walnuts had increased levels of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, the researchers found.

"Walnuts provide a particularly rich source of a-linolenic acid, a natural plant source of omega-3, which we suspect may have been responsible for the improvements we observed," study researcher Catherine Carpenter said in a statement.

However, the study authors emphasized that more research is needed to see if eating walnuts actually works to improve chances of having a child for men who have trouble with fertility.

Walnuts are known for a multitude of other health benefits, too. To check them out, click through the slideshow:

Health Benefits Of Walnuts

Health Benefits Of Walnuts

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Boost Your Brain

A Journal of Alzheimer's Disease study published earlier this year showed that eating walnuts as part of a Mediterranean diet is linked with protection from brain functioning decline that occurs with aging.
The study, conducted by Spanish researchers, included 447 people ages 55 to 80. Walnuts were linked with improved memory in the study participants, researchers found, but other kinds of nuts were not.